At
the opening of the legislature, that Napoleon himself attended
in Paris on 14 February 1813, he related in large summary, to representatives
of the nation, the reasons and the misfortunes of the war in Russia,
the value of the French army, the services that his allies had
made, the intrigues and embarrassment that England had raised.

“I wanted peace, he said: it is necessary for the world. I
did everything humanly possible to get it and was refused ... I would
never refuse an honorable peace that conforms with the
interests and the size of my Empire. My policy, to me, is not mysterious.
I know the sacrifices that I have made; as with this war of the
sea of late, my people will be ready for all sorts of sacrifices.”

Thus Napoleon avowed that it was at England that he had been at
war, this England which had ruined his dream of the continental system,
this England that he had gone to fight in Prussia, Austria, Spain
, Portugal and Russia; this England which was always present or hidden,
with its tricks and its gold. However, before anything decisive,
the Emperor assembled at the Tuileries in
private counsel to assist him, the ministers, the Archchancellor Talleyrand,
the Chairman of the Senate and some great dignitaries of the Empire.
After laying out what he called the state of his situation,
he finished by saying:

—I ask the following question: “In
circumstances we find ourselves, do we negotiate for peace or make
further efforts to continue the war?”

As no one hazard to answer, he heatedly asked of the archchancellor,
sitting next to him:

—Well, Cambacérès,
what is your opinion?

—Peace, Sire, peace, because I think
...

—Peace! peace ...
Napoleon interrupted without giving him time to complete his sentence.
As you hear, it looks like you are afraid that I give will put
you in command of the only squadron of cuirassiers that I still
have left. Do not worry I know you're not strong on your stirrups.

Then speaking to Talleyrand, placed at the end of the table, he
asked his opinion. But being that the careful diplomat would not
make it known to everyone, or he had another motive, he made an evasive
reply.

—I do not understand, said the Emperor.

—Well! Sire, replied Talleyrand, we must
negotiate.

So, going to the Duke of Feltre the Emperor
asked him his opinion. The Minister of War appeared to think for
a moment, then answered in a firm voice:

—Sire, I look at Your Majesty as dishonored
if he consented to abandon a single village held in the French
Empire by a senator-consul.

—That is clear! said Napoleon in launching
a sardonic glance at Talleyrand.

Then he immediately resumed addressing always Clarke: So what should
we do?

—Sire, arm all of France.

—It is about time! exclaimed the Emperor
again with a jump from his chair, this is called talking!

However, a council member ventured to pronounce the word treaty ...

—No treaty! Napoleon said in a thundering
voice, but grapeshot!

After these words, we think that none of the assistants would dare
to display contrary sentiments to those which seemed the most flattering
to the master; the council withdrew. In his determination to erase
the reverses of Russia
with new victories Napoleon used what he called the mass media,
giving the public a boost and an enthusiasm unbelievably quickly.
Everything worked together. He brought under the flag 180,000 men,
created an artillery and immense material stores, formed the Guard
of Honor, and finished all the major projects that he had started,
including the Concordat, that he took most to heart. He was
called to
Paris some of his marshals, to provide them with a little distraction,
and as he said jokingly, to make them change. By sending
them to take command of army corps, he was generous to the point
of munificence: to Ney he gave one hundred thousand crowns, and
Marshal Oudinot five hundred thousand francs,
because his house in Bar-sur-Ornain had
burned down.

Before leaving the capital, Napoleon, frightened by the memory of
the attempted Mallet, and wanting to ensure that such businesses
would no longer be possible, be named the Empress regent; and to
facilitate in the serious work that her new title imposed, he placed
beside her a man in the probity which he was more confident, his
secretary intimate, M. de Menneval, to
which he recommended to write to him directly and every day;and finally
before the eve of his departure for the army, he definitevly organized
the new militia guard under the title of Guard of Paris and
put them under the immediate command of the Minister of Police.

The decisive moment was approaching; the fate of Europe could be
decided in a single battle. Napoleon would be dealing with two great
armies, one Russian, the other Prussian, who both thought they were
sure of victory, because they each had their sovereign at their heads.
The enemy, who came to meet us was stronger
in number; there were many former soldiers and six hundred cavalry
squadrons. Napoleon would oppose that with battalions of conscripts,
all proud, indeed, to replace the old brave and determined to be
killed for his cause and the homeland. Our cavalry did not have ten
squadrons; but on the other hand, we had a formidable artillery.

Napoleon left Saint Cloud the 5th of April 1813, at two
o'clock in the morning; on the 16th, at midnight, he was
in Mainz, and the 24th to Erfurth,
leaving there the 25th to go to Weimar, welcomed by the
reigning duchess: it was the second time, followed by the great army,
he would visit the princess: the first in 1806, coming down from
the battlefield of Jena, and this time on going back. After
ten minutes of interview, he leaped on his horse and made his first
march at the head of the service squadron of the guard. Although
at the front, he barely was able to emerge in the middle of the columns
that cluttered the road. From all directions, the conscripts came
into his path and looked upon him with admiration, because most of
these young people had never seen him before. Napoleon had at his
side the Prince of Neufchâtel, the Chief of Staff; the Duke of Frioul, Grand Marshal of the Palace; the Duke of Vicenza,
Grand Equerry, and Count Daru, Director
General of the army, followed by his aides de camp, all generals;
twelve officers d’ordonnance, wearing the new uniform, blue, with raised
embroidery of silver, that was most elegant, and then four service
pages and some medical officers. The procession was closed in by
a crowd of pickets and livery men that led many horses by hand. The
first day was used to identify each one to his place and rank; thereby
the most perfect order was established. Nobody doubted the success
do the campaign: we knew victory followed our faithful eagles.

On 29 April we arrived in the evening at Eskarisberg;
militarily Bonaparte stayed in a house located on the main square
of this town. This house had only one room on each floor, and after
having visited, he said, smiling to the Prince of Neufchâtel:

—Here is our bâton de perroquet*
for the night.

Following then the Emperor occupied the steps of the stairs, the
ground floor and landings. The battalion of the guard established
its bivoac and lit it fires on the square.
The next day, the 30th, Napoleon advanced on the route
to Weissenfeld at the head of his columns,
where at two o'clock in the afternoon, the division Souham, who formed the vanguard of the army, found itself
suddenly in the presence of two divisions of Russian cavalry. Souham did not have any cavalry, but without waiting on orders
from the Emperor, he marched to the enemy. Immediately the Russians
unmasked twelve pieces of cannon; the French unlimbered an equal
number in battery; one side and the other joined in a cannonade that
became very heated. The Russians wanted to be finished, trying several
charges on our young soldiers; but they were strongly repelled by
the file fire from their squares. Soon forced to retreat, they left
two of their cannons, and this division of conscripts entered Weissenfeld shouting
cries of victory and dragging behind him the two pieces it had taken
from the Russians. Napoleon, who had stopped a moment to see the
parade, said:

—Young people! You have started. You just
prove that I could count on you.

And along the entire line shakos were waved on the end of fusils, admist the cries of Vivel'Empereur ...
The headquarters spent the night in Weissenfeld.

The next day, May 1st, at the break of day, the outposts
warned of a strong enemy rearguard, who had settled on the heights
of Pozerna.
Napoleon mounted his horse and reconnoitered himself the same
position: it was the defile of Rippach needed
to traverse to the plains of Lutzen. These
heights are occupied by Wintzingerode,
with cannon and cavalry. The Emperor immediately ordered the
troops to take the position: it was again the division of Souham that was the advanced guard. This bellicose
youth advanced, and the attention of veterans was on its maneuvers. The
action began; on each side the fighting was equally hard; but from
the outset, the army had a grievous loss: Marshal Bessières was killed by a cannonball.

Only ten minutes had passed until the enemy started to fall under
the grapeshot of the Guard artillery. Soon the young soldiers of Souham seized
the heights. The division Girard, who came from behind, crossed the
defile at a pas de charge and with cries of Vive l'Empereur! The
division Marchand chased the enemy on the
road from Lutzen, while Brenier and Ricard pass through
the defile at the head of these recruits, which deployed and come
into line on the other side. But the enemy was already in full rout,
and the affair was decided. The bulk of the French army followed
the route of Lutzen.

At the sound of cannon at Pozerna, Prince
Eugene was strongly focused on the right. The division that General Roguet brought
back to Napoleon consisted of troops from the Old Guard who had made
the winter campaign: it was the elite of Napoleon's army. The
junction occurred, and veterans of
Moscow reached out its hands to the conscripts of
Paris. From that same evening, the grognards took
positions of honor around a deserted house where Napoleon established
his headquarters. The Young Guard drew up its bivoacs in front of the pyramid of Gustave-Adolphe,
near which Napoleon had placed sentinels to protect the hache des sapeur poplars shading
the funeral monument.

At two o’clock in the night, the service aide-de-camp of Napoleon
announced that an aide-de-camp of the Viceroy had arrived at headquarters.
It was the Count Cornaro. He found him busy signing the work that each
of the ministers had sent from
Paris. Baron Fain had before him several open portfolios where he
handed each piece as soon as he had quickly acknowledged it, because
Napoleon never signed any paper before you reading it; —then,
when he dismissed his secretary, he said to the aide-de-camp of the
prince:

—It is just the two of us now, and be
careful of what I tell you to report it accurately to
Eugene ...

Napoleon then explained the plan of the battle which was to take
place a few days later, and he repeated to Count Cornaro all
he had to say, showing him on a map the locations he had indicated.
When he was assured that it was well understood, it was recommended
that he leave at once and sent for the Prince of Moskowa.

—My dear Marshal, said once he was before
him, if all my predictions come true, after tomorrow there will
be a battle. We will have a terrible blow to the neck and I will
count on you.

—Sire, replied the intrepid Ney, that
Your Majesty gives me his young soldiers, means I can lead them
where I want. Our old mustaches know as much as we do; they sense
the difficulties and the terrain, while the conscripts do not look
right or left, but always before them; it is that they want glory.

—Well! my dear,
nobody better than you would be able to satisfy that; you have
it all. I give you command of the third corps, with divisions Souham, Girard, Brenier, Ricard and Marchand. Me,
I will not leave, we will fight together; your final instructions
will be sent tomorrow; go get some rest.

The Marshal went. It was three o’clock. Napoleon, dressed
in his little gray frock and accompanied only by his aide-de-camp Drouot,
came out of the headquarters and headed on foot to the
monument of
Gustave-Adolphe. It was very sad; the death of Bessières,
that he wanted to hide, forced him, so to speak, to shoulder his own regrets
that he probably wanted to vent on the bosom of a friend; but this way he was
silent. Coming near to the poplars surrounding the tomb of the heroes killed
once at Lutzen he told Drouot:

—General, leave me, I need to be alone.

And, being recognized by the sentry who had already shouted: Who
goes there? He went under the trees. The calm of the night,
the funeral monument which the moon illuminated the surmounting
stone cross, the shadow of the sentinels that projected around
him like giant ghosts, the seriousness of his position on the eve
of a battle that could prove decisive, everything, in this place,
gave his thoughts already so great a hue of majesty and solemnity.
Napoleon did not allow himself to be easily dominated by external
things, but the moral effect here was his reaction, and he later
confessed that during this type of pilgrimage, he experienced strange
impressions and as it was a kind of revelation of future. The day
began to emerge when he joined Drouot, to which he only said:

—It is good sometimes to look at the opening
of graves to talk a little with the dead.

Then they quietly returned to headquarters. Crossing the bivoac of
the grenadiers of the Old Guard, one of them wanted to come to deliver
a petition to the Emperor, but a corporal stopped it, saying in a
tone of reproach:

—Leave it alone, and you can see that
he is up to say his prayers.

—His prayers! exclaimed the grognard with
a kind of ridiculous disbelief: fat chance!he is
just seeing his outposts.

At these words, the Corporal said heatedly:

—I tell you that the Little Corporal had
just said his prayers, to the Marshal Bessières who died incognito.

Then, showing him Napoleon, he added in an attentive tone:

—Look how sad he looks ... The poor Little
Corporal, goes! ... He lost an old camarade de chambrée ... I'm sure he has just gone and asked the
stone God that is there under the trees for his final admission
into the paradise of the brave.

—He has the right, said the other grognard making
a gesture of assent.

Arriving at his headquarters, Napoleon threw himself fully clothed
on her bed and slept three hours. At eight o'clock in the morning
he was on his feet. The troops who had spent the night at Lutzen went
on their way to
Leipzig; the Guard marched after them.

General Lauriston, who took the lead,
was at nine o'clock in the morning in the vicinity of Lindenau,
a suburb of
Leipzig, and was preceded by cannon shots, on the crossings of the Elster and Pleiss, that they seemed to wanted to
dispute. Hearing this cannonade, Napoleon mounted his horse recommending
to his secretaries and his interpretors to
find with him in
Leipzig, those points where the advance would be most important and
most difficult to hold, because he expected the battle to be waged
the next day. Napoleon had at his side Prince Eugene, who had
joined him in the morning, and Marshal Ney, who came to take his
orders from the mouth of Napoleon. Already we saw the fire
of the advanced guard of Lauristonadmist the first houses of Leipzig and Napoleon was advancing;
but eager to know if the engagement was serious, he dismounted on
a small height, and pointing his telescope on the city, he saw, to
his surprise, that the roofs of houses were covered with people,
who were stationed there to be spectators of the fight.

—Where the devil will the curious nest! he said
to
Eugene, shrugging his shoulders; and giving him his telescope: Oh,
he added, looking ahead, I bet that before we arrived, most of
these good people will be falling over each other and killing themselves
by falling to avoid being wounded by remaining where they are.

Hardly had he finished speaking, when a ghastly cannonade was heard
on the right, towards the point where the troops of the Prince of Moskowa had
spent the night, that is to say around the
villages Gross-Gorschen, Kaya and
Klein-Gorschen. Napoleon immediately
directed to the Marshal:

—Do they wish to surprise us? He asked.
This could be possible: listen to it.

—Sire, replied the Prince of Moskowa,
the attack is fierce.

—Well! see you
send me someone to tell me what it is.

And the marshal went to join his corps. From that moment,
the attention of Napoleon was focused on this point. An aide-de-camp
of the Prince of Moskowa arrived at full gallop.

—Sire, he said, the enemy’s army
has debouched in its entirety at Pégau and
fallen on the troops of M. the Marshal.

—Well done, Sir: go tell the Prince of Moskowa that
I will hasten my arrangements accordingly, and before half an hour
we will meet.

Although Napoleon did not expect to be attacked in this position,
he took it in stride, and addressed the general officers around him,
saying:

—We have no cavalry, no matter! It
will be a battle in Egypt
: the French infantry should suffice.

The officiersd’ordonnance were
immediately dispatched to the Duke of Ragusa and General Bertrand,
to give them the order to increase their pace and head, through the
fields, on the enemy. The Viceroy left Napoleon and went to
the head of the troops of the Duke of Taranto. As for the columns
that were spaced out on the road to
Leipzig, he ordered them to close their ranks and expand their lines
on the flatlands, advancing at a run, to the aid of Marshal Ney.
This maneuver was carried out under his eyes. Seeing this proud youth
defile ahead to the cries of Vive l'Empereur! Napoleon saluted and said, rubbing his hands:

—If my little Parisians do not fail me,
in three hours the battle will be won. Ney was right to ask me
for them: I must go see him.

And he left at full gallop to join the army corps of the Marshal,
by crossing the side where the cannonade seemed greater. By
his own admission, he had been caught in delicate position,
by an attack on his flank, while performing a movement that would
turn the enemy, it had been in a Prussian inspiration at Dresden
to resume at the same Jena , the revenge
of Auerstaedt; but when the confederates
heard the cannon of Lauriston at Lindelau,
they believed they were going to take in the rear the French army
committed in Leipzig, and the rest could not escape them .

However, the great effort of artillery and infantry was on the enemy
center. Of the five divisions of Ney, four were already committed:
the fight became terrible especially at Kaya where
the scene was a bloody melee.

The carnage lasted for three quarters of an hour; the enemy was
able to take the four villages and was about to debouche at Lutzen,
when suddenly, amid a cloud of dust and smoke, Napoleon appeared! .. . The guard was behind him. His presence alone
could stop the momentum of the Prussians, and produced on our troops
its accustomed effect.

—Conscripts! Napoleon cried in a ringing
voice, your Emperor is with you! He knows your courage!

With these words, enthusiasm reappeared in the bloody figures of
these brave young men. They did not falter under the deadly blows
that were disperse; they returned to the fields of Kaya,
align themselves in the grass and, without ceasing to shout Vive l’Empereur!reformed their
ranks, their thick columns of attack and the fight again with more
fury than ever. In the midst of disorder, Napoleon himself joined
a battalion of conscripts. While this small troop moved at shoulder
arms, he recognized, in the ranks, a battalion head that was suspended
from his job a few days earlier for a lack of discipline. He halted
the battalion, ran to this officer and places him in command. Vivat and
the cries of joy soon erupted in the battalion, which formed at the
same time the head of a column of attack amid cheers of the old Grognard witnessing
this scene. Passing them at a pas de charge, these soldiers, electrified
by their presence, shouted:

—Long live the Old Guard!

—Long live the Emperor! conscripts ...
replied en masse the old mustaches, with an enthusiasm impossible
to describe.

And when these young people were close to them. some of
the grenadiers said to their big eyes:

—Come, Parisians! Go heat up the
Prussians a little firmly; we're here like you; after you we’ll
deal with what’s left.

These then launched forward; the most horrendous noise of musketry
was heard: then the cries of the combatants was followed the silence
of death. It was at Kaya where the
major efforts were directed; that village would soon become the scene
of a gigantic struggle. However, Marshal Ney continued to face everything:
his chief of staff, General Gouré,
was killed near him; General Girard, already wounded by two gunshots,
fell to a third ball; on wanting to bring him to the ambulance:

—No! he said trying to get up,
I want to stay on the battlefield, because the time has come for
all French who has heart, to overcome or to die; leave me!

The generals Guillot and Cheminau had
amputations; General Gruner fell dead;
the officersd’ordonnancePretet and Béranger were
wounded while carrying orders; but Souham, Ricard and Marchand stood in the
middle of the fire. For four hours we fought with growing animosity. Gross-Gorschen,
Klein-GorschenRahni and
were taken and retaken without either party wanted to lose ground. The
conscripts of France
and the young people of Prussia
, the flower of the universities in the North, children of the best
families in
Paris, were there pell-mell, fighting hand to hand in the smoldering
rubble of those unfortunate villages. On both sides it was their
first time under arms, with both sides a brilliant youth had answered
the call of their sovereign.

As for Napoleon, he had remained before Kaya,
within half the cannon shot distance of the enemy. In this
dangerous position, the Prussian batteries, set near Gorschen and Rahn,
fired continuously on the Guard in battle line a short distance behind
the Emperor; the balls roaring over his head, the bullets and shrapnel
whistling by his ears. We are not afraid to say that in no
other battle did Napoleon appear most visibly protected by his destiny:
because all the time he remained near Kaya and
before Lutzen, he was exposed to probably more enemy fire than in
any of the many battles that he had attended so far. Only when, a
ball had passed through some of the twists of gold that adorned the
top of the fonts of the saddle of crimson velvet, did he make an
involuntary movement; but his horse, which perhaps had better instincts
of the danger than he, its ears lowered, its nostrils convulsively
widen, indicated enough, by the continual trembling of its members,
that he did not want to stay at that position.

Napoleon, holding the bridle short, bent on the saddle bow, and
extending his hand onto the neck of the animal, gently patted to
reassure it; then resuming his posture, he became impassible and
continued to turn his telescope on the movements that were running
before him. The escort guides stood behind the staff and a little
to one side. They had noticed the effect of the balls, the gesture
of the Emperor had not escaped their notice. One old soldier, who
dated from the creation of guides and whose bravery was to the point
of recklessnes, said in a half voice to
one of his comrades newly admitted into the Guard Chasseurs:

—Moustachon, did you see the Little Corporal? He does not
fear this; he is the chicken from India
.

—My faith it's true! said the young
chasseur with admiration. He is still strongly at his post
and as a quiet as Baptiste: the lancers
of the 2nd I have told you of.

—What nonsense! said another old mustache, by mixing the
conversation in a low voice: I think he has to be strong and quiet,
since the balls coming in are expressly flatten on his coat; and
it is so true that on the evening of Moskowa,
the brusher, M. Constant, found in the pocket of his jacket
two buckshot which were like dried pears.

—Chasseur of the Guard, my colleague, said the old guide
in giving an air of importance, you repeat an inconsistency. If
you say that underneath the Grand Cordon of the Legion of
Honor, which is his coat, they are being repelled, so be
it! it happens because I've seen it; but
this is not the reason: listen Moustachon,
look up there ... You see? ...

And a movement of the head of the guide indicated the sky.

—Well! he continued, its because
of his star, which has a tail that we can not see because there
is too much smoke, and when the star loses its tail, then rrrrouf! the first
shot of a child will come at the Little Corporal. It is called GustaveAdolphe the Great, monarch
of these surroundings, who is dead and buried in a stone, and at
which it was reported he was brought to tears this night; moreover,
Cardinal Flech had said the same thing to the Emperor, on the
day of his birth.

The young chasseur was, like all children of
Paris, incredulous, mocking and teasing. He could not show much respect
to the beliefs and the person of the old guide, so he replied in
a jeering tone while looking in the air:

—It is possible, my old one; but in the meantime, it will
not be the King of Prussia or papa step-father who will
finish the tail of that star there: they do not have arms long
enough. I think they we will also not finish us today, although
we do not reside as high as the comet of which you speak, and I
drank wine last year, with my uncle the curate.

—This is not a reason, little Moustuchon,
replied the old soldier frowing with
his eyebrows at him who dared to doubt his words; because you do
not know that the kings in general and the emperors in particular,
have very long arms, when they want. This was said again yesterday
by Lieutenant Piquemal at grooming. But
enough of that Moustachon: the lined
hats are have their eyes on us.

And the old hussar fell silent issuing a contemptuous look at the
young guide, who did not notice it, as he was occupied by what was
happening around him.

Shells and grenades were rolling, leaping and bursting at the feet
of the Emperor; shrapnel continued to pass over his head with its
horrible hiss, he was not touched. Unfortunately it was not the case
for his headquarters. Already some hussars of the escort had grumbled
between their teeth:

—Now it starts to heat up a little harder.

The old guide, meanwhile, had the habit over the last twenty years,
to talk to shells and speak nonsense to the bullets as they passed
by him:

—At least, he said to the young hussar, in speaking of the
shell, this gives you a heads up when she comes to
give you a slap; instead those villain bullets go by without
any warning! and without any indication
when you died, which is rather unhealthy, Moustachon.

At the same time, a seven-shot came passing very near the legs of
his horse plowing up the ground.

—Oh! the thief! said the
old guide gritting his teeth and following the projectile with
his eyes to judge its effect; go on your way, brute, I do not know
you!

A moment later, a shell came in burying itself within walking distance:

—Watch out below! he said while
turning away his horse.

The shell exploded, injuring a staff officer and two guides. Soon came another shell arrived at full crack and killed on the
spot the medical officer Goulet and a pharmacist
called Desrosiers, and two others were
seriously injured at the same time.

—This is becoming too long, said a voice in the group of
the staff.

—The position is untenable, said another.

—We all will be swept away! ... added a
third in a deafening tone.

Napoleon barely pretended not to hear these particular conversations,
but it was easy to read on his face the extreme displeasure and impatience
that this continual whisper made him feel. Finally, when a general
officer who said, to be distinctly heard by his neighbors, that a
line regiment had been destroyed in its entirety in front of Gorschen,
the Emperor, pushed to the limit, replied loudly in the saddle, in
humorous tone:

—Gentlemen! a regiment does not
perish before the enemy; it is immortalized!

But Napoleon, who has not lost sight of Kaya,
left his staff, rushed his horse at full gallop, and almost alone,
throwing himself on the crossroad:

—Conscripts! he cried, what a shame!
... It was with you that I had placed all my hopes, and you fly!
Do you not see me then? ... Have you no confidence in your Emperor?

At these prestigious words, these brave young men rallied to the
cries of Vive l'Empereur! With hearts
full of enthusiasm, the soldiers return to combat.

—The moment of crisis which decides the gain or loss of
a battle is here! Napoleon said to the officers of his staff, who
had hastened to join him. Gentlemen, he said, there is no time
to lose if we want to finish.

At a sign of Napoleon, the sixteen battalions of the Young Guard,
commanded by Dumoustier arrived in good order. The Duke of Treviso was
responsible for driving into the fire, marching on Kaya head
down and to lay hands on all that he finds. This attack was supported
by six battalions of the Old Guard, old warriors inured to danger,
and fearing neither fire nor ice, Napoleon said later in his
bulletin. General Roguet commanded; and
to make these irresistible forces:

—Drouot! cried Napoleon assemble
a battery of eighty pieces; place it slanting to outflank the village
by the right, and sweep everything you see before you.

A move of this magnitude was only a matter of a word; Drouot,
seconded by Generals Dulauloy and Devaux,
executed it quickly; and the Emperor himself came to the middle of
the pieces, that the enemy covered with grapeshot. Meanwhile
the Young Guard rushed Kaya like a torrent. The Duke of Treviso, who was at the
head disappeared in the fray; his horse was killed under him; General Dumoustier also falls; both get up and stand out. This time,
our young soldiers were fighting against the veterans of the Russian
and Prussian army; they fought hand to hand and with l’armeblanche.
They took one last time the village, and the terrible effect of the
large battery completed the crushing of the enemy. Finally, this
mass of fire, dust and smoke, remaining motionless so long on the
same point on the plain, took its course and returned through the
unfortunate village, which was no more than a heap of burning and
smoldering rubble; Napoleon judged that everything was finished.

—Nothing is impossible with this youth! he said.

Then he asked one of his aides-de-camp:

—What time is it?

—Three o’clock, Sire.

—I was right this morning; the battle is won.

Napoleon denied to pursue the enemy. He
knew the numerous cavalry of the Allies could have, and indeed he
had noticed that most had not. Couriers then shot from the
battlefield to go to
Paris, across Europe and to Constantinople, bearing the news that
the French had seized victory.